Linger
by TheAzureFox
Summary: There's a gap in-between them, a gap in between the oldest princess of Nohr and the adopted prince kidnapped from Hoshido. Still, the lingering distance keeps Camilla wondering about what kind of emotions she holds towards her fake brother…(CamillaxKamui. Japanese names)


AN: Another one-shot I've been working on for a bit and which was, ironically enough, suggested by another person through a Guest review. It's probably out of character for Camilla (maybe) and Kamui's character is, of course, changed since he's basically a free-for-all character (game personality be damned) but is meant to explore their feelings more in-depth. It also serves as practice for me writing in the present tense since I've always ever written in the past whenever I've wrote before. So, this's kind of new to me but it's also sort of fun so I hope I didn't mess up writing this way.

Regardless, enjoy!

(Edit: Added a few things because I forgot that three of the little squiggly things don't register as a line on this site and because the ending needs a a bit of clarification)

(Edit 2: More clarification…)

* * *

Linger

Alive. Kamui is alive.

That much knowledge puts Camilla at ease, and she can't help but feel giddy as she sees Kamui across the battlefield. He is well, sword red and eyes haunted, but he is still breathing. Minutes ago, she had believed him to be done in by death's hand, stolen from her after a freak accident at the Infinite Chasm. Now, however, she met him as a Hoshidan abductee. She doesn't know how they have done it – probably by brain-washing, she assumes – but he is standing by their side with the calm of a ghost. The look in his eyes is eerie, almost like he has seen things she would never wish him to see, but the way his body is postured tells of the stress he has experienced. It takes all of her willpower not to fly over to him and not to take him where he stands and hug him with the adoration only a big sister like her can give. Instead, she stands beside her siblings with the uncertainty of what is to come.

However, unlike her, it seems Marx has his bearings. He is reaching for Kamui, begging and urging him to return to Nohr. The oldest man on the Hoshidan side does the same, acting with a familiarity that sends Camilla's fingers itching for a fireball to the face. Her tome is in front of her and her eyes are dangerously calculating, the longing to set that long mass of dark brown hair on fire burning within her. However, it is only when Kamui makes a move to choose does she find herself watching her adopted brother with cat-like curiosity.

Which side would he choose? The woman watches as Kamui falters, hesitation brimming to its peak. Elise calls to him and so does the little redheaded girl on the other side. Leon shouts his name just as Marx does, and the gray-haired boy scowls and watches Kamui with narrowed eyes. The tomboyish pegasus rider shouts and pleads for Kamui's attention and Camilla can't help but burst in. "Kamui! Come back to us, _we're_ you're rightful family! _We've_ raised you and always been by your side and they've only been with you for two days! Whose to say they aren't brain-washing you?"

Out of all their shouting, hers' seems to reach Kamui the most. He startles, glancing in her direction and a tired smile slips onto his face. She responds to it with her own and his eyes harden with determination. He raises his voice. "I will choose Nohr," he decides.

All at once, Camilla and her siblings breathe in relief. She flies to his side, sliding off her mount to collapse him in a full-fledged hug. He struggles under her, pushing back and gasping for air. "Camilla," he sighs with the same tone that tells of his annoyance for her antics. "You don't have to strangle me."

"I can't help it," she murmurs with adoration, squeezing his cheeks. "You're just too cute!"

He blushes and pulls away just as Leon and Elise join them. Marx is to the North, sword pulled out and aimed for his Hoshidan counterpart. Kamui follows her gaze and the hesitation shows again in his eyes. She can sense that, in some way, he regrets his decision. She can't help but feel a selfish in return, and she clasps his hand comfortingly with her own. The platinum blond gazes back at her, wide-eyed, and she smiles. "We'll get through this together. Don't worry, you chose the right path."

She just barely catches his response but it's enough to make her worry further.

"I hope so."

* * *

Later, when she arrived to Kamui's side to defend her against a Hoshidan invasion, she met the emotionless dancer who claimed to be a former princess of Nohr.

At first, Camilla couldn't help but be jealous of her. Aqua was a lot of things. She was calm, reserved, wise, and carried a sense of admiration that swayed even her lovely Kamui. She noticed that, often, her little brother sought the dancer for her advice. It was almost hard for Camilla not to envy their amiable relationship. Kamui never came to _her_ for advice. But, overtime, Camilla turned her worries into insecurities. She felt like, after all the time Kamui had spent in Hoshido, Kamui had been building a distance between himself and her. She didn't know the reason why – she estimated it had something to do with his learning of his real lineage – but she found his behavior extremely hurtful.

It was only likely that, in her moment of anxiety, she would stumble upon the dancer who added to her suspicions.

Aqua looks at Camilla with calm and respectful eyes. Her body, though obviously trying to stand tall, cringed before the latter. It was almost as if she was trying to pass as someone on the same level as Camilla but found that she could not, instead dipping her gaze to the ground in quiet submission. The purple-haired woman was almost startled by the eccentric behavior, having expected Aqua to stand defiantly instead of acting like a commoner. In a way, she finds herself softening.

"Princess Camilla," the girl murmurs. "What a nice surprise."

"It's been lovely to see you too," she replies with no sarcasm attached. "Though, I wonder, why are you up at this time of night?"

Aqua glances up to the night sky, eyes tracing the moon's figure. "It's quiet at night," she responds. "It gives me time to think about things."

"Like what?"

"Like Kamui," the dancer notices Camilla's tensing and smiles reassuringly. "He's important to you, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. And to you? What is he to you?"

"I consider him as my mirror image," she responds softly. "As what I could have been but also as my opposite. You can say that I see him like my inverse twin, sharing the fate that I did not get just as I share the fate that he did not have. I guess you can say I consider him a brother just as much as you do."

She pauses. "A brother, huh?"

Aqua raises a slight eyebrow. "Don't you consider him as such?"

"I do," Camilla murmurs. "But he's beyond just a brother for me. He's my most precious person. To me…without him…I don't know how I could live. I nearly had a heart-attack when I thought he had plunged off the edge of the Invisible Chasm."

The blue-haired dancer manages to meet her violet gaze. She looks neutral, unconcerned, but there is a hint of respect dancing in the girl's eyes. "I only hope he knows how you feel," she says mysteriously. Camilla turns to ask her but the girl is already walking away. Instead of chasing after her, Camilla ponders over her words, unsure.

"I will make him know how I feel," she whispers to herself, confident. The lady stands up and escapes into her room, planning and plotting for how to reveal her feelings to Kamui.

* * *

After she had figured out her strategy and woken up at five in the morning, she set herself to work in the kitchen. Cooking isn't her expertise but she figures she can try, following the instructions she remembers Pieri teaching her in her early childhood. She picks up pots and pans and sets to work, fingers picking up eggs and cracking them carefully. They land on a greased pan with ease, eggshells quickly removed and the remainder of the yolk sticking stubbornly to the whites. She places the egg's contained over an already set-up fire and watches as they crackle and spittle and eventually bubble into what could be considered crisp scrambled eggs. When she views her work with satisfaction, she sets the dried bits onto a place and pours a glass of milk. At this point, Nyx has already begun her shift in the kitchen. She praises Camilla's work and then shoos the woman out, muttering about how she has to hurry if she wants to make everyone's breakfast on time. Camilla obliges and leaves her, heading towards her brother's room.

As expected, when she knocks on the door her brother offers no visible response. She opens the door and is glad to see him sleeping. All the more fun for when he is awake. Camilla sets her scrambled eggs and the glass of milk on the nightstand next to Kamui's bed, taking the time to pull back his sheets and envelop him into a warming hug. However, unlike what she had initially expected, he did not take to it lightly.

There was a screech of panic, a struggle in which he blindly flings himself out of her grasp and falls off the bed. She panics when his head hits the ground and rushes to his side, bubbling words of apology. "Kamui? Kamui!" she cries, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Answer me!"

He moans and his eyes flutter open to look at her with confusion. "Camilla?" he asks and she notices with fondness that his cheeks are riddled with red. "What are you doing in here? In my bedroom?"

"I brought you breakfast," she replies with a stroke to his face.

He sighs, escaping her fingers just before she has enough time to ruffle his hair. He then wanders over to the tray that sat on his nightstand, appearing to be lead out by the scent wafting from the silver plate. Kamui investigates it with ravenous eyes, the lust for food sending his stomach into a long line of rumbles. He grabs the fork she had provided before hand and digs in with a kind of gusto that makes her giggle. When he is done and moves on to the glass of milk, only pausing once he finishes to wipe at his upper lip, he turns to Camilla with wide eyes. "Wow, that was delicious!"

"I'm glad you think so," she responded with pride. "I made it myself."

There's a sudden realization that flickers in his eyes and she realizes that she doesn't like the look of it. Kamui's shoulders drop and he finds the sudden excuse to grab at the ends of his nightclothes. The instant avoidance does not suit him, and she finds herself worried that some sickness has befallen him. "Kamui?" she asks. "Are you alright?"

"I…just remembered I have to fight a training drill," he says softly, gaze trained away from her and to the ground. "Thank you for giving me breakfast but I think I should be going. Zero probably won't take to tardiness that well."

He escapes from her before she can even protest, picking up his armor and sword with swift speed in his steps. Camilla can't help but pout, her hard work feeling wasted. It seemed her feelings hadn't reached him as easily as he had expected and that hurt her. Inwardly, she resolved to try another route.

However, it wasn't until five minutes later that she realized Zero's training session started at eight. When she had met him, it had been six o' clock. In a way, she couldn't help but feel upset but, all the same, it made her angry. The Hoshidans had changed her little brother, she just knew it, and she wished to know why he was avoiding her so much.

* * *

Since then, she had made many attempts to convince her little sibling of her admiration for him. She sent Cyrus to profess her love to him. Of course, when her little messenger came back all he could announce was that Kamui knew of her feelings for him. She also argued with Joker, whose insistence on taking care of Kamui made her frustrated and whose conversations often made her want to light something on fire. Bouquets of red roses settled on his desk every morning and she was pleased to find that they landed up in nicely crafted vases every time she left them in his room. At times, she even consulted the dancer Aqua for advice. Even though the girl was new to their ways, she provided good wisdom that made Camilla almost proud to have her as her adopted sister.

Now, however, she sat on Kamui's bed with the willingness of a dog waiting for its master. She knew she had nothing better to do as all the shops were occupied by the others and all royal duties had been fulfilled earlier beforehand. No border patrols were called and no one seemed to find anything for her to do. So, as she had nothing else to take care of, the lady found herself sitting inside of Kamui's room.

It's not a bad place, she supposes. It's plain, with dark walls and a dark floor and dark furniture scattered across the room. It's in a typical Nohrian style and she is almost surprised to see nothing of his home country lingering within it. There are no Hoshidan relics, no antiques emblazoned in their signature. The only thing close to it is the sword he had picked up from the other side, a memento obtained in wake of the destruction of Ganglari. And, he always carried that item around his person. That, along with his dragonstone, were the only two things that carried a reminiscence of his home country.

The door creaks open and she is elated to see her younger brother stroll into the room. He is shocked to see her, face portraying a wide range of emotions. However, before she has a chance to read them, he reins them in and dons a mask of neutrality. She is disappointed and hurt as he greets her politely, his normal fussing ceased from existence. Instead, he only sighs. "Sister, why are you sitting on my bed?"

She takes note of the blood lingering on his sword and wonders if he fought another battle with the Hoshidans. She supposes so, as his visit with the Rainbow Sage was suggested to have Hoshidan units lingering about. Even with her resentment towards the eastern kingdom, she can't help but feel sorry for Kamui. Having to slay those of his own family…it was almost unthinkable to her. If she were faced to murder someone, she would definitely not face her axe willingly in the face of someone she loved. There were exceptions, of course. If someone dear to her were to leave unconditionally, to betray Camilla, the lady would almost certainly slaughter them. It was not in her best interests to do so but she knew that if anyone like Luna or Kamui left her side, she would ensure that they would forever remain by her through their deaths. After all, she always _did_ believe that the spirits of the dead were bounded to their murderer.

Still, to see her beloved Kamui so haunted, it makes her sad. She can only feel the urge to comfort him, to hold him and dote on him once again. She smiles at his tired expression, urging: "Come here, Kamui."

Her arms grab his as he approaches, armor and sword gone, and Camilla forcibly pulls him onto the bed. She sets his head on her lap and he reluctantly follows through with the motion. Kamui makes a murmur of protest but her hands stroking through his hair soothes him visibly. And, though he does not admit it, her actions seem to relieve him. His eyes droop and when she begins to hum an old nursery rhyme. His muscles relax and she can tell he's drifting off to sleep.

"Sister?" he murmurs sleepily, making her pause in her song. "Do you love me?"

Camilla sighs. "My, of course I do. Why do you think I send you flowers everyday? Why do you think I send Cyrus to convey my adoration to you every afternoon?"

The rhetorical questions make him nestle in closer, acting like the child she always used to play with when they were younger. She realizes with disappointment that he has fallen asleep, and makes a move to lovingly stroke his face.

When she removes it, a touch of wetness remains on her fingertips. With a pang of sympathy, she realizes he has been crying the entire time.

They repeat the cycle over and over again. He, coming into her room and crying on her lap, and she, the silent pillar of support whose words of comfort occur in the strokes she gives his hair. He doesn't speak his gratitude out loud, but she can tell Kamui is touched by her quiet gestures.

* * *

Recently, however, Camilla notices that Kamui refuses to let her go on missions. Every time he goes somewhere, be it the Hoshidan Fortress, the mercenary village or to the dance theater, Kamui refuses to bring her along. He refuses to speak to her or even speak his reasons for ignoring her. Every time she tried to approach him, he scurried away like a mouse from a cat. It frustrated Camilla to no end, but it only frustrated her more when his army returned from the Nohrian theater, all soldiers present aside from Aqua and Kamui himself. When questioned, Kamui's units could only respond in vague terms, mentioning that the pair had simply _disappeared_. Inwardly, Camilla wondered if the two had backtracked to Hoshido while she wasn't looking.

Leon reassures her otherwise. "Camilla, it would be in no good faith to suspect that they've betrayed you."

"But they've just left, disappeared! _Why_ would my beloved Kamui just _do that?_ " she realizes she sounds hysterical but she can't help but feel bitter. "Maybe he planned this. Aqua has been a bad influence all along. She came from Hoshido and maybe she's just been _spying_ for them this entire time! Maybe Kamui left us for his _other family!_ "

Her brother falters and she can tell that the same thoughts are racing through his head. He is one for reason, for logic, and his hesitance doesn't bode well with her. Camilla frowns, crossing her arms. "They've been gone for five days now. The last time something like this happened, Kamui was abducted by Hoshido."

"They weren't necessarily abducted, they-"

She cuts him off before he can try to reason further. Any good thing Hoshido has done for her brother makes her taste bile. She considers them as do-gooders who are too obsessed with regaining their lost sibling to realize that he isn't even as associated with them as he is with Nohr. However, the doubts and worries that she holds, the tiny, gnawing idea that Kamui could possibly turn rogue for arrogant peace-keepers, makes her falter. Surely, surely, she thinks, her little brother won't turn _against_ them? Surely he's made his choice for good? The anxieties are already sewed in her mind and she feels sick, almost murderous, but Leon takes note and tries to calm her down.

"Maybe they were abducted," he waves a hand. "Having a princess and prince of Nohr would make good bargaining tools for Hoshido. Of course, we'd rescue them if it came to that, but I don't think it is. Maybe Aqua was hurt and Kamui is taking care of her, maybe he got sick and it's vice versa."

That idea doesn't hold ground with her either. The whole notion of Kamui and Aqua acting lovey-dovey is enough to make her hand twitch for her axe. She doesn't know why, but it irritates her. To think that her little brother could possibly hold affections for someone else…she can't fathom the sheer possibility of it.

* * *

Of course, when her brother does arrive on the eve of the day she talked with Leon, stumbling and muttering of atrocities that she cannot understand, Camilla is elated. She takes her brother from Aqua's hands (and who is all the more happy to see Leon), and hoists Kamui over her shoulders. He grumbles, hands hiding his face, and she travels to his bedchambers, ignoring the blatant looks of surprise that arise from the servants around them. Even Joker looks shocked, muttering curses against her shameless ways as she settles him into bed. He utters further disgusting phrases as she strokes Kamui's face lovingly, his overprotective nature flaring into being. She dismisses him quickly and, though he looks ready to string her neck, obliges when Kamui agrees to the command. He leaves them quickly, defeated but not without arrogance. He slams the door behind him and the sound echoes loudly in Kamui's room.

The platinum blond boy only smiles. "He's throwing a fit again," he muses.

Camilla only frowns. "Why have you been gone so long?"

"It's a…long story," he pauses and does not continue, although his eyes tell of a further tale.

She decides not to press him, instead sweeping back locks of hair and pressing a kiss to his face. He blushes and she watches with amusement. "Do you not like being kissed?"

"No, I…," he fidgets underneath the covers. "It's embarrassing when you do it."

"Why?"

"Well…it makes me," he looked away, "it makes me feel more nervous around you."

"Ah? Is that so?" He nodded and she patted his head. "Perhaps, maybe, do you…?"

"Do I what?"

She smiles. "Do you love me?"

The question startles him and he turns onto his side – facing away from her. The fact that he refuses to face her makes her a little hurt, although she can't consider why. "What?" she asks. "Am I wrong? Elise often told me that, when men blush at being kissed, it means they have an attraction to the person who kissed them."

"Elise is a liar."

"Or she's right."

"That too." He pauses before blushing again. "Gods, did I really just say that?"

She laughs and wraps her arms around him. He stiffens and shoots her a glare. Camilla gives him an unapologetic glance and he reluctantly relaxes. "You know," he murmured, "you asked me but I never asked you. Do you like me, Camilla? Like, love me, like me? Or just as a sibling?"

The lavender-haired lady finds herself faltering at the question. She had never considered it before, but she supposes it is a question worthy of her time. She's always know that she held an undying adoration for her younger 'sibling' albeit teasingly. Yet, still, she knows there's more to it than just the feelings of loyalty to a relative. Just like Marx, Camilla has always known that Kamui was never their true younger brother. She merely played along like everyone else had yet she never came to saw him as a true sibling. Instead, she sees him something of a man. He is kind and thoughtful, and she knows he is haunted by the choice he has made. Killing people was never her brother's forte (and, yet again, Camilla relapses into the habit of referring to him as her sibling) but, even so, she knows he is strong and determined. The matter of her feelings is left ambiguous, and whether she sees him as just her brother or as someone else is an unsure question that she finds she does not want the answer to quite yet.

Kamui senses this and he goes quiet. "You know," he says after awhile, "you don't have to answer if you don't want to. That's fine."

She feels the need to apologize but he waves her off before she can do so, sighing as she begins to comb his hair. It is not long before he falls asleep and before she calls back Joker to attend to his wounds. However, as she slips away from his side, she can pick out the distinct expression of hurt and insecurity that lingers on his face.

And Camilla knows that it is entirely her fault.

* * *

He is allowing her on more battles, she notices. Recently, the amount of times she's gone out with him to fight on the battlefield is increasing, and she is quite pleased. He is still ignoring her but there are moments where his voice carries to her and she can only find herself elated as his eyes turn to hers', as the emotion of battle moves from his stare to the one she reflects back. Still, the exhilaration of his mere attention makes her wonder about his words yet again. Does she see him simply as a sibling, as a brother? Does she see him as a friend? Did she see him as something completely else? She doesn't know the answer quite yet, but they still circle through her mind regardless because she _wants_ to find the answer. Camilla wants to know the solution to her thoughts, to her feelings, and she wants to do it for _him_.

A man with flickering skin attacks her, baring transparent teeth. His axe meets hers' and she guides her wyvern mount around the blow, instead switching tactics from brute force to magic. The blow of wind sends the man flying back and he hisses before bursting into little particles of ash. She watches as they are picked up by the wind and then charges to attack a duo of the soldiers who are fighting against an out-numbered Luna. Her retainer risks her a cautionary glance before giving a nod; a silent signal to partner up. Camilla raises her hand and unleashes a tornado of flames that sends the soldier on the offense back. His flickering partner growls and charges at Luna but is quickly vanquished by a slice of the pig-tailed girl's sword. He disappears and the other tries an attempt on Camilla. The wyvern rider met him with a slash at his neck and he vanishes in the same way his partner and the one before him did: into a cloud of reddish ash.

"Thanks," Luna says curtly. Camilla nods at her retainer and the girl rushes off to help a boy with blonde hair and a bell on his forehead – Odin, Camilla recalls swiftly. Leo's retainer. The woman can't help but notice that Luna is blushing when with the man, and she quickly places that Luna has been rumored to love the man. As she watches the two fight together, blows so well-aimed and timed, she can't help but think the gossiping maids were right.

"Camilla, watch out!"

A silver and blue dragon leaps out in front of her and deflects a bow from an opposing wyvern rider. The opponent gives a bellow of fury and aims at the dragon – Kamui – with his axe. Camilla rushes forward to meet their opponent, her weapon blocking his from dealing any sort of scratch on her brother. Her wyvern roars at the fading man's and the wyvern snarls in return, giving Camilla just the right amount of distraction to send arrows of lightning flying in her enemies' direction. The man backs off, hair singed and purplish eyes glowing furiously, but it isn't until Kamui slaps them with his tail that both wyvern and mount disappear.

Kamui returns to his human form and glares up at Camilla. "You weren't paying attention," he accuses.

"I wasn't," she admitted. "But I would've been fine regardless."

"But you should _watch out_ ," the blond boy argued, his eyes only straying from hers' to check their flanks cautiously. When he saw no danger was around, he turned to her. "What if you got hurt?"

She took a glance at Felicia. The maid was busy healing Zero, stave glowing with light while the man impatiently nocked an arrow. "I can always go to a cleric," she replied with a shrug. "Honestly, are you that worried about me, my cute little brother?"

"I am," he pulled out his sword as a strategist approached and swiftly destroyed her before she could attempt an attack. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Camilla tilted her head at the cryptic tone he carried in his voice. There was something he wasn't saying. She opened her mouth to call him out on him but was blasted by a spell of ice. The shattered bits of cold brushed her cheek and she turned around, furious. A mage stood smugly by her side, mouth twitching up in dark amusement. She grabbed at her tome, read the words, and swallowed the caster with a cloud of lightning. Kamui gave her a look that said: "I told you so."

"It was a sneak attack," she handed out the excuse with a shrug, believing the surprise ambush as insignificant in her eyes. "Nothing I can't handle on my own."

His eyes burned into her, igniting with a flare that sent her shivering. Kamui looked frustrated, annoyed, and, most of all, _angry_ with her. There was an aura of intense fury, which concentrated upon her, and she could only feel herself flinching before it. There was so much emotion packed into his gaze that she found herself wordless in his presence. He, too, was silent, his eyes speaking the only language that his mouth could not. Without speaking, he turned around and left her side, departing to another part of the battlefield.

She does not see him for the rest of the fight.

* * *

In light of Kamui's troubling behavior, Camilla went to see Aqua. Ever since the two had returned from the area they had disappeared into, she has noticed the girl's closeness with Kamui and thus distrusted her. It was only until recent, when light became shed upon the fact that she and Kamui had been trapped against their wills temporarily in enemy territory, that she came to regain her faith in the songstress. She couldn't help it. Aqua is wise despite her youthful appearance and she is always the one who makes it easier for Camilla to sort out her feelings.

She enters Aqua's tent with the silence of a gazelle but Aqua greets her as if she had heard Camilla's footsteps from miles away. A sweet incense of lavender pushes into Camilla's nose and the girl wonders why a Hoshidan scent is found lingering in their temporary Nohrian homes. Then she spots the smell-provider with the mark of the Hoshido noble crest and finds herself wondering if the silver dish with the burning sticks was present from Aqua's adopted country to her. However, Camilla does not dwell on it. Instead, she sits down in front of the dancer.

"Have you found your answer, Princess?" Aqua asks politely as Camilla settles herself on a pink cushion.

"My answer?"

Her amber eyes light up with fascination. "It seems that you haven't," she murmurs, sipping from a bowl of soup broth. "My, and I thought it was so obvious. Regardless, let us not dwell on that. Instead, tell me what about the questions that ail you so?"

There's a sudden feeling of unease that settles on Camilla's shoulders. "I…," she begins but then stops, uncertain of how to proceed. "Well, first of all, Kamui is angry at me. He's angry and, frankly, I can't tell why. All I said was that I could protect myself…is that really so bad?"

"I can't speak for his motives or why he's angry at you, but I believe your brother is only being protective of you."

"He doesn't need to be," Camilla answers back, eyebrows pinched. "I am perfectly able of taking care of myself."

"And he knows that, I'm sure," Aqua takes a sip. "But this type of protectiveness is not drawn out willingly. He probably doesn't realize it, but he has the same emotions towards you that you have towards him."

"That I have…?" the lady echoes.

The blue-haired dancer does not elaborate. "Talk to him," she suggests instead. "Find out why he is angry. Then, maybe, you'll sympathize with his frustrations."

Camilla leaves the tent with a squeezing heart. The scent of lavender still carries on the woman's armor, but the words Aqua has given her are of a stronger potency. She doesn't understand anything. She doesn't understand the dancer or her brother or even her own swirl of winged creatures that pound in her chest. Everything is so weird, and the line between what she believes and what she realizes is slowly beginning to become drawn.

* * *

Kamui is sitting on his bed and gazing out the window when she enters. His body doesn't make a notice of her entrance – merely remaining rigid and unmoving – but the words that echo in the room suggest otherwise.

"What do you want, Camilla?"

She looks at him, puzzled. "Ah?" she tilts her head. "And how did you know that it was me, brother?"

His head turns to meet her. Red eyes stare scathingly at hers'. "I told all the servants to leave me alone. No one else would even bother opening the door but you."

There is a lingering silence and his gaze is pulled back to the window. She sits down next to him and he moves away. The action stabs at her, and she can't help but feel hurt. "Why are you angry with me?" she asks quietly, softly, as if she's not sure she wants to hear the answer.

Kamui's dragon eyes narrow dangerously. "Why am _I_ angry with _you?_ " he shouts, immediately leaping to his feet and spinning to face her with an accusatory look. "Why am I angry with you, you ask? Well, I'll tell you!"

She watches as her brother yanks at his hair, frustration pouring out in every tug. "Ever since I returned from Hoshido, I've found out I've been lied to! I've been lied to by everyone and everything! My mother – my _real_ mother and not just some _concubine_ -" Camilla flinches at the insult but he continues, "-just dies on me as soon as I meet her and then I find out that I'm a goddamn _dragon_ with _no_ blood relation to _you!_ Do you know how _weird_ that is to know? To find out that everyone you thought was family – you, Marx, Leon, Elise – was all a lie all this time?"

"I don't," she whispers with guilt but he continues on without hearing it.

"To make it worse, for _weeks_ everything had just been so _weird_. My life went to hell, everything went to hell, and you just make life _so much better_ by sending my eccentric little gifts and whispers of affections from your servants. And then, and then, you even go so far as to _sneak into my bedroom and meet up with every day of the week just to comfort me._ "

There's so much emotion in Kamui's eyes, a windstorm of literal emotion, that Camilla finds it hard to believe that anger is the real reason he is shouting.

"My feeling's have been a mess. Nothing is right with me, _nothing!_ And then you want to go off on battles and I…and I avoided you. I didn't want you to be on the battlefield, I didn't want to _fight alongside you_. I was so cowardly, cowardly, cowardly and then, when I finally agree to let you battle with me, when I finally say that 'everything is fine' and that 'I don't feel this way', you go and get yourself hurt. You fight, yes, but you don't pay attention and when they finally do hit you then oh, Gods, I just…I just," Kamui breaks down into tears, flinging his arms around her and streaming his hands through her hair and sobbing all the while. "I just don't understand. I don't understand why I love you. This isn't right, this isn't right, and I'm sorry, so sorry, but can you just please stay with me a little longer?"

It all clicks into place. Kamui's actions, his avoidance, and the burden that she has inevitably placed onto him. Her own heart matches with his words, thrumming and humming in a way that she has never felt it done before. Kamui's touch, the lingering sensation of fingers brushing against her skin and his tear-soaked face driven into her chest makes her face heat up tremendously. She's in love, she realizes, and the knowledge haunts her. This isn't the affection of one for her brother, but the affection towards someone she sees as a man.

Slowly, she returns the hug. His face lifts up to see hers', eyes searching her own curiously. There's a deep expression of guilt, of regret, of fear and hurt and frustration and self-deprecation. She's seen this look before. Once, while she was traveling with her older brother and out on a castle patrol, a lady approached them. She confessed her love to Marx but the man waved her off as politely as he could manage. The same look she had displayed there was the same look Kamui showed Camilla.

The woman raises her fingers to wipe the tears off his cheeks and gives him a slight nod, lips smiling. Kamui watches her with wide eyes, reaching forward to cup his hands on her face. She lets him and he leans forward shyly.

Her lips press into his and he freezes under the unexpected contact. It takes him a second to regain his bearings but he eases into it, proceeding just as unsurely as Camilla herself. When they part, his eyes gleam with relief.

"I didn't think…" he whispered, seeming almost childish as his fingers grazed his lips.

"What? That I love you?" Camilla laughs and she feels like a huge secret has just been unleashed from her mind. She brings him closer and lets his head rest upon her shoulder. "My dearest Kamui, how could I not? You're adorable, you know."

He sniffs and leans into her, sighing contently. "I…thank you," she is uncertain of why he is thanking her but lets him continue. "To think that my love was reciprocated…well, I guess Aqua was right in the end."

"Aqua?"

"She told me that I was in love, not too long ago, about the time we went missing," he murmured. "I didn't believe her, I didn't _want_ to but it all made sense. Now, I'm grateful for what she said. Without her, I don't think I'd have gotten the courage to confess, as crappy as the confession is."

Camilla smiled softly as he dozed off to sleep, murmuring about engagement rings and angry servants. Inwardly, however, she swore to thank Aqua for the advice she had given them both.

And, as it were, she got her other younger brother (Leon) to propose to the blue-haired dancer the very next day. The lady was just as happy as Camilla when they received their confessions from their own boys, and they both readily agreed on a marriage on the same day.

-Fin.


End file.
